9.30.2011

Hi there! I have swatches from NYC's limited edition fall collection called In the Spotlight. These polishes are perfect for fall. They are simple, but sometimes simple is good! :)

The first is Scenestealer Grey. A blue toned charcoal with shimmer. I think this is my favorite!

Next, is Backstage Brown. This is a caramel shade with shimmer.

And finally, Underground Purple is a magenta with blue shimmer.

All of these polishes covered in 3 coats. These retail for $1.99 and I have seen this LE collection at Kmart so far.

I also have baby toes for you too! It's been a while! Sorry for the blurry pic, keeping an 11 month old still is never easy. She is sporting China Glaze It's Alive! A little preview before I show it to you for real. :)

9.29.2011

Hey ladies! How is everyone? I have a nail post today...feels like it's been a while!

It's a glow in the dark polish. I don't care about the glowing properties so much as the gorgeous pink color! That's definitely the only reason I picked it up. Has anyone heard of the brand Republic Nail? This was my first time seeing it.

So here's the pretty hot pink polish with shimmer.

I had to play around with the exposure while editing this pic to get it to show up...that's why it looks so fuzzy. In person, this polish actually glows orange!

And because pink and black compliment each other perfectly, here is Wet nWild's Tangled in my Web layered on top. This glitter reminds of those little seeds on hot dog buns. haha

Finally, here it is matte. Can you tell much of a difference? It was more evident in person, but not so much in pics!

9.28.2011

Good morning readers! Two cosmetics posts in a row...I haven't forgotten about nails, I promise!

I am showing you some interesting eyeshadows from Born Pretty today. These come together as nine in a set. They are all super shimmery and go on like silk, which I love. Most of these only produce a sheer wash of color, but I like that because it makes it easier to wear some of the less traditional colors.

Below is the packaging. These are loose eyeshadows. Normally that wouldn't bother me, I almost prefer them most of the time. But the packaging on these could be better. There is no sifter in the jar, so you have to be very careful when opening. You can see that some of them leaked in transit. But these are a total steal at $4.90 for all of these, so the packaging becomes a minor detail.

I grouped these together by shade. Unfortunately, these have no names, only numbers.

Here is a quick eye look I put together with these recently. They are sort of sheer, but the effect is still fun. Using these wet would definitely intensify the color.

I think these are a great deal for some fun shadows! Once you look past the mess factor, these are fun and easy to use. It was hard to capture just how shimmery soft these are, but hopefully you get the idea!

You can find these shadows from Born Pretty here for $4.90. Code AMBERL73 gets you 10% off that!

9.27.2011

Hey everyone! Today is a quick post to show you some Jordana lip colors. These are called Easyshine and they are a mix between a balm/lipstick/gloss. Kind of like the Covergirl Natureluxe ones only I like these better! :)

The shades below are: Cotton Candy, Fresh Melon, and Raspberry. These are also scented as their names imply. The scent isn't overbearing...I only noticed it when I was first applying.

I swatched on white just so you could see how these truly look since sheer lip products look different on everyone. L-R: Raspberry, Cotton Candy, Fresh Melon

And here they are on my skin. You can tell the last 2 are more sheer on me than the paper.

Overall, I really like these! They don't last very long because of the glossy nature it has, but these are perfect to keep in your bag as a quick pick me up for your lips to moisturize and add a hint of color. These come in more shades as well. You can find Jordana at Kmart, local drugstores, and Cherryculture.com which is having 25% off sitewide until the 30th!

9.26.2011

I have a simple, but fun mani to show you today. I started with a Born Pretty matte polish similar to Zoya Lolly, only with shimmer. I have to say, I prefer this one to Lolly. The application was smoother as well. As with all Born Pretty polishes, this one doesn't have a name, only a number (07).

My favorite thing about mattes is how quickly they dry!

Then we topped off the mani with lacy nail stickers. This is such an easy way to dress up a plain polish...I love the way this looks!

You can get the pink matte polish here for $3.25 and the stickers here for $1.52. To get 10% off, use code AMBERL73 at checkout!

Also, don't forget to check out the great deal on my right sidebar, $25 for $50 of stuff from aveyou.com! They carry OPI and Essie. Just click the box to get taken to the deal!

9.25.2011

I am showing you a brand today that is new to me. They are from Esther's Nail Center and the brand is Adoree. These are just a few polishes, there are tons more in all kinds of finishes on their site. I am eyeing some of the glitters (duh)! They carry CND Shellac and Piggy Paint, among other nail products.

First up is a bright, cherry red jelly with gold fleck glitter pieces. Sadly, this had no label so I am giving my best guess as to what the name is based off of Esther's Nail Center website and that's Shocking Red. Please let me know if you do know the name of this! This is 2 coats, very thin formula but also very concentrated. This is very shiny without a topcoat.

Next, is Night Shade. This is a super dark plum jelly. It was a little more difficult to work with, but after 3 coats everything evened out nicely.

Garrison Red is a bronzy gold shimmer. This has a bit of a frosty finish, which isn't my fave, but it's not horrible. This is 2 coats. Also, I don't understand why red is in the name of this polish? :P

Here is Cottage Red. A deep red/maroon jelly. This is 3 coats for an even finish.

And finally, this is Mystical Grape. Love the name! This formula had a bit of frost, but also had some metallic quality about it. This is 3 coats.

I think these colors are great for fall! I love all the jellies especially. Adoree retails for $6/bottle and you can find it at Esther's Nail Center. What are your favorites?

Morning readers! I am SO happy it's Friday...and I'm sure I'm not the only one!

This post features a polish set from Born Pretty Store. It's 3 polishes in the different shades of green to create a flawless gradient look. I previously showed the pink version of this to you guys here. I love the idea of this...my only complaint is that the glitter is quite chunky. But because I love glitter so much...that doesn't stop me from using it! I think the pink version of this was a lot easier to use though for some reason.

Even if you don't like the idea of using them as a gradient, each glitter is pretty on it's own as well.

You can find this product on Born Pretty's page here. FYI the bottles pictured on the site are different from what you receive. And as always AMBERL73 gets you 10% off!

That's it for now...I will be back later today with my 500 follower giveaway winners! <3

9.22.2011

Hello hello! This is a fun one today! I am showing you Dustin's polish creation, Pumpkin Patch with nail art. This seems to be the favorite among all of you so I thought you would enjoy seeing it all dolled up. :)

Here is the swatch again. If you want to see swatches of all Dustin's polishes, click here. This is a pumpkin orange base with 2 sizes of green glitter mixed in.

Then we added a french tip using Sinful Colors San Francisco and stamped a pumpkin from the new Bundle Monster plate set. I can't wait to start doing more Halloween looks!

Now for the news/housekeeping! From today (Sept 22) to Sunday (Sept 25) night at midnight Husband's Halloween Frankens collection is $10/set, or $3/bottle. Shipping is $2 to the US. Shoot me an email at amberajohnson89@gmail.com if you are interested. Hurry though because we will NOT be buying more supplies to make these once they run out!! You can also see another blogger's review here!

Also, today only 8moms.com is having a $25 for $50 at aveyou.com. They have OPI and Essie products! Great deal! HERE is a link to take you there. :)

And finally (!) my 500 follower giveaway is ending TONIGHT at midnight! Don't forget to enter! Click the pic a the top right of my blog.

9.21.2011

Hi everyone! Today is just another swatch for you. It's a gorgeous purple/blue glitter from LA Splash called Heiress. This is 2 coats layered over Sinful Colors Let's Talk which is identical in shade to Heiress and prevents from having to cake on the glitter. This is definitely one of my favorite shades of purple!

And I have been meaning to show you this for a while...this is what happens when you leave polish and other cosmetics in the heat for too long! We were on a super long car ride back in August. luckily there was only one real casualty, but it was still sad! Looks crazy huh?

Thank you for sticking with me, even on less interesting days! :)

*This polish was sent to me for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

9.20.2011

Hey ladies! More Born Pretty for you today! I'm kind of obsessed with this store. :) This polish is a peachy pink glitter. On the website it looks a lot more pink, so don't be fooled! Once again this doesn't have a name, only a number (34). Although it wasn't what I expected, I really like it. I believe this is 3 coats. Since the glitter in the formula is very fine, it wasn't thick or chunky after that many coats.

Can you tell how teeny the bottle is? You can see here that it contains 8mL. Shouldn't be an issue of you are an addict like me and will only come back to this every once in a while! :P

For stamping this time I chose Born Pretty plate M77. Once again, no issues with plate...worked great. I really like all of the images on this plate. This particular design takes a little precision to get lined up with the edges of the nail just right, but it's worth it for the extra work I think. This is stamped in Konad White, with a rhinestone accent added for some bling using nail glue from Born Pretty to attach it.

9.19.2011

Good morning! I am happy for a fresh new week. Maybe that's because I actually slept last night! So I am back to (hopefully) redeem myself after yesterday's snoozefest of a post. I have been wanting to try this idea for forever and finally picked up some feathers at my local craft store. This is a fairly simple mani to acheive.

The base for this is Color Club Soft as Cashmere. I know that this look is typically done by sticking the feather in wet topcoat, but my husband had the genius idea to use nail foil adhesive and that was 12487391 million times easier!! Once it's topped off with a nice, thick layer of topcoat, the effect is pretty awesome!

The other thing I loved about this is that it has staying power. I am on day 3 of this mani and the feathers haven't lifted or anything.

I hope to find some more colorful feathers and try this again sometime. <3

9.18.2011

How is it going everyone? I'm trying to chill out and watch the Emmy's pre show, but my little baby is making that difficult. Actually, this whole weekend has been difficult. She hasn't let my hubby or me get any sleep...I wish I could just hand her off to someone else for a while! That said, I can only muster the energy to show you a swatch today.

But don't let my unenthusiasm detract from the beauty that is Zoya Yara! This was the only must have for me out of Zoya's new fall colors. It's a pretty army green with gold shimmer flakes. This is 2 coats.

Well, I'm sorry if you were slightly underwhelmed by me today....hopefully I can get some sleep and be back and better than ever tomorrow!! I have lots to show you!

Also, my giveaway has FOUR days left! Don't forget to enter if you haven't already! <3

9.17.2011

Hey ya'll! I'm back with nails today. I have another Born Pretty Store polish to show you and I realllly love this one! They have tons of colors like this polish which is even more exciting! The closest thing these can be compared to are the Milani One Coat glitters. But unlike Milani, these play nice with topcoat. They are also much more concentrated with shimmer/glitter which helps play down the gritty chunkiness that is so common in most glitter polishes.

Maybe I am biased because this is one of my favorite shades of blue, but this is just gorgeous! And it is practically a one coater...yes please!

To top this off...you guessed it...nail art! This is Born Pretty plate M81. No issues with the plate at all, very easy to stamp and the designs are a good size. This is Konad Pink and Black special polish applied to the image plate in different spots and scraped across to get the multi colored effect.

The shimmer polish retails for $4.74, and the stamping plate retails for $2.99 (half the price of Konad!!). And as always, you can use code AMBERL73 for 10% off your entire order! Hope you enjoyed my design today...enjoy your weekend! <3

9.16.2011

Happy Friday everyone! Today is the first rainy, cool day of the season and I kind of love it! I probably won't be saying that in a few months though. haha

Today I am showing you some swatches of Jordana's retractable eyeliners. They come from 3 separate lines:

Bright Eyes- These are matte shades that remind me of how crayons look! I love fun colors for eyes so I think you could get really creative with the looks you come up with with these pencils. The names for these are pretty straightforward: Purple, Pink, Orange, Blue. Purple and Orange were the least pigmented and needed a second coat to build up. The Blue and Pink went on really well though in just one. These also have great staying power.

Metal Rocks- I loved all of these! Out of Green Envy, Paradise Blue, and Purple Prism, I think the purple is my fave. These were all super creamy and once applied, looked like an actual cream liner. The metallics are very flattering and there are enough shades to mesh with any eye color. All of these are very pigmented and stay on all day.

Glitter Rocks- Punk Rock Purple is a medium dark purple shade with glitter. I thought the glitter would look cheesy and juvenile, but it actually meshes really well into the purple for a more shimmery effect. This would be a super easy way to dress up your look!

Jordana actually has free shipping with a $25 purchase on their site right now! You can also find Jordana at drugstores, and Kmart. Which are your favorites?

*Products in this post were sent to me for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

9.15.2011

I have a polish from the China Glaze's Metro collection to show you, but the real star comes later. This is Trendsetter, a mustard yellow/pea green shade with shimmer. I was worried what this would look like on me, but I like it!

And here is the best part...glitter of course! :P This is one coat of a glitter from Born Pretty Store. Unfortunately it has no name, what do you guys think it should be called? I thought this would be a good complement to Trendsetter and it really is! I like this combo a lot.

And here is 2 coats layered over black. I think I prefer the 1st combo a little better. I think this glitter could be a full coverage in 3 coats. I couldn't stop when looking at my nails when I first put this on. I haven't seen a glitter quite like this one before!

What do you think about this no name glitter from Born Pretty? I know I'm a fan! Don't forget to use the 10% off code in my right sidebar if you order from BPS. ;)

*Some polish in this post was sent for review in exchange for my honest opinion,

9.14.2011

Good afternoon readers! My husband had to drive 3 1/2 hours to take the PCAT today, so I have been alone all day long...but it's been a productive day so it's not all bad! :)

Just a quick post today. This mani turned out kinda meh to me...but I figured it was still worth showing to you. I got the inspiration from Mad Manis and think their end is result is MUCH better than mine, but here it is anyway:

Polishes used: Zoya Charla and Robyn

Orly Luxe, Stone Cold, and Green With Envy

The colors were dotted on the nail, then a thin coat of Orly Green with Envy was put on top of it all. Finally, Bundle Monster stamp 208 was put on top.

9.13.2011

Hello again! I'm back this morning to show you Orly Fowl Play! I was so excited to find this polish and I think you can guess why just by looking at pics! I found this at Ulta. Fowl Play is part of Orly's fall 2011 Bird's of a Feather collection.

This polish is a deep plum jelly base with blue sparkles and flakies like Nubar 2010. PERFECTION for fall! :)

Dustin did it again! This look he came up with he calls "ghost stamping". It works best with sheer/jelly polishes. This is one coat of Fowl Play on top of Bundle Monster stamp BM15. I LOVE this effect! Expect to see more in the future!